President of BastA: Öcalan’s isolation must end with his freedom

Swiss Party BastA [Enough! Strong Alternative of Basel] President Martin Flückiger stated that the isolation of Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan must end immediately, and Turkey should set Öcalan free in order to continue the Solution Process on equal terms.

Flückiger spoke to ANF on the current situation of the Democratic Solution Process, the meaning of the Rojava Model for Middle Eastern peoples, Turkey’s planned operation on Rojava and Syria, and the implications of the isolation on Öcalan.

He stated that Turkey must treat the solution process as a duty and the negotiations should not be sacrificed for political calculations after the HDP success in June 7 elections.

The President of the Swiss Party said that Erdoğan and the AKP government have always preferred a weak PKK as a negotiation partner, and determined their policies with the guidance of this principle. However, PKK has gained prestige and HDP won a major election success. Flückiger stated that the Turkish state is now scared to negotiate with the Kurdish movement, which has recently increased its prestige significantly.

Flückiger stated that Öcalan must be free for the solution process to continue, and emphasized the need for taking concrete steps for this purpose. Flückiger highlighted the need for continuing negotiations in equal terms, and said that this equality as well as Öcalan’s freedom should be guaranteed under the Turkish constitution.

Flückiger criticized the demands from PKK to give up its arms and said that the Kurdish movement could not do this because it is the only force fighting ISIS in the Middle East. He pointed out that a cross-border operation by the Turkish army would mean war against Kurdish people, and said that the Turkish state was not upset at ISIS authority and massacres but only at YPG advances in Rojava.

President of BastA stated that NATO states would not allow a Turkish intervention in Rojava, and called on NATO states to take a clear stance against Turkish support for ISIS in the region.

Flückiger described Rojava as a model for the Middle East and said that women and minority ethnic groups can freely participate in democratic decision-making processes here. Flückiger said that Middle Eastern states might not accommodate this democratic system led by Kurdish people, and called upon international powers to support the stateless democratic structure in Rojava.

The BastA President harshly criticized the definition of PKK as a terrorist organization by the US and several European states, and said that it was meaningless to insist on this position in a time when PKK is the only force fighting ISIS terrorism. Flückiger recalled the US support for YPG, and called upon international powers to change their policies on the PKK.

Flückiger ended his statements by saying the Öcalan is a leader and PKK is a guerilla movement in his opinion. He recalled the 10 million signatures for Öcalan’s freedom that were submitted to the European Parliament, and called upon everyone to realize that PKK is fighting ISIS for all Middle Eastern peoples.